Should I charge for quotes?

Some trades do, for detailed work, and it filters out tyre-kickers. It also loses some genuine enquiries — worth testing on your most time-consuming quote type first.

How long should I wait before following up?

Two to five days for most work. Long enough that they have read it, soon enough that you are still the one they remember.

What if they say I am too expensive?

Ask what they are comparing it with. Half the time it is not the same scope, and that is a conversation you can have. The other half tells you something useful about that customer.

← Answers

How do I stop quoting and never hearing back?

Usually the quote is doing too little. A number with no scope gives a customer nothing to compare except price, so they compare it against someone cheaper. Say what is included, what is not, and what happens if something is found — then follow up once, by phone.

A bare number invites a race to the bottom

If three quotes are just figures, the only visible difference is the figure. Spelling out what you are actually doing — materials, access, making good, warranty — gives a customer something to weigh, and it is the only defence against being compared with someone who left things out.

Qualify before you spend the evening

Quoting is unpaid work. Before you build a detailed one, find out the timeline, whether they have other quotes, and roughly what they expected to spend. It feels blunt and it saves entire evenings.

Follow up once, and call

Most owners send it and wait. One call a few days later — not to chase but to ask if anything needs explaining — recovers a surprising number, because the common reason for silence is confusion or an unrelated delay, not rejection.

Count what you win

If you are winning almost everything, you are probably too cheap. If you are winning very little, either the price is wrong for the market or the quote is not doing its job. You cannot tell which without keeping score.

Also asked

Should I charge for quotes?: Some trades do, for detailed work, and it filters out tyre-kickers. It also loses some genuine enquiries — worth testing on your most time-consuming quote type first.
How long should I wait before following up?: Two to five days for most work. Long enough that they have read it, soon enough that you are still the one they remember.
What if they say I am too expensive?: Ask what they are comparing it with. Half the time it is not the same scope, and that is a conversation you can have. The other half tells you something useful about that customer.

Written for your trade

This is the kind of thing Solomon works through with owners using their own numbers. See how it works →